AMUSE Is the Only Growth Shinsegae International's Cosmetics Unit Has Left

AMUSE's new Bangkok stores are opening just as parent Shinsegae International posts a quarterly operating loss and its cosmetics division shrinks once AMUSE is stripped out, leaving one acquired brand to carry both the unit's growth and a 2028 revenue target it is not yet on pace to hit.

By Daniel Osei

Published August 13, 2026 · Updated August 16, 2026

AMUSE opened a second Bangkok store at Central Ladprao on August 14, following a first flagship at Central World in May and a pop-up at Central Chidlom that closes August 15. The retail buildout is real, but the more consequential fact sits one level up: AMUSE is now the only part of parent Shinsegae International's cosmetics business that is growing.

One brand, one profit line

In the second quarter of 2026, Shinsegae International posted consolidated sales of 308.6 billion won, down 3.8% year over year, and swung to an operating loss of 2.3 billion won, missing analyst consensus. Its cosmetics manufacturing division still grew 54% in the quarter, but strip out AMUSE and that same division fell 34.8%, dragged down by inventory clearance tied to the VDVBeauty rebrand. AMUSE itself set a quarterly record: 19.9 billion won in sales and 2.4 billion won in operating profit, by the company's own reporting. Thailand is where that momentum is now being spent.

The 2028 math

Shinsegae International bought 100% of AMUSE in August 2024 for 71.3 billion won, taking the brand from Naver-affiliated Snow, and set a public target of 200 billion won in AMUSE revenue by 2028. AMUSE closed 2025 at 60.2 billion won, up 15.8% from 52.0 billion won the year before, its first profitable year. Hitting the 2028 target from that base means more than tripling revenue in three years, a pace last year's growth rate does not yet support on its own, even accounting for the stronger second quarter.

Thailand was not AMUSE's to discover

AMUSE's exclusive retail agreement with Central Marketing Group, signed May 1, put it inside a K-beauty shelf CMG had already started building. CMG signed an exclusive Thai distribution deal for Korean makeup brand Jung Saem Mool in June 2024 and has said publicly it wants to be known as Thailand's leading "K-Beauty Retailer." AMUSE's stores are the newest, most visible entrant in that portfolio, not a first mover securing the market alone, which matters for how much pricing and shelf leverage the brand can expect to hold as CMG adds more Korean names.

None of that undercuts the Bangkok news. It reframes it: a single acquired brand is now doing the work of reviving an overseas cosmetics unit that lost money for years, inside a distribution relationship it does not fully control.

Sources: Shinsegae Group Newsroom · Central Group Newsroom